without a purpose (i can still smile)
by DarkAngelOfSorrowReturns
Summary: Aqua just couldn't get out of her thoughts, but someone decided to help with that. Written for ChristmasInJuly19 on the Melting Pot! Warnings for potential KH3 spoilers.


Aqua was hiking on the trail in the Khimki Forest, its lush trees surrounding her path. It'd been a long time since she'd seen this many trees; not since her visit to Twilight Town and the mansion. It was peaceful out there with the warm air hitting her skin. It surprised her genuinely that Russia could reach this temperature. She shouldn't make such presumptions anyway.

It couldn't be helped when she was out there alone to her thoughts; it was what she wanted anyway.

Everyone planned this trip to Moscow to unwind after their success in securing Kingdom Hearts; it was what they deserved according to the king. Aqua wasn't sure if she was ready to accept everything feeling so final...so...finished.

She'd recovered from the darkness for some time now, but it was a different feeling altogether when things had gotten quiet among the group. Of course, there was the occasional Heartless roaming around from someone's dark deeds, but nothing to the extreme that it required everyone's help.

It was...a useless feeling? That's how Aqua saw it.

She should be relieved that things were over, but now she had to remember what her purpose before everything. Did she have any other purpose among the others that wasn't just the mentor or 'The Great Keyblade Wielder' or the big sister?

Aqua looked down at her hands, and she flexed her fingers. Other than her magic, was there anything meaningful about herself? She clenched her fist with a deep frown on her face.

A twig snapped somewhere behind her, and Aqua instantly spun around in a defensive stance. Her eyes narrowed as she looked around for the culprit, ready to fight if necessary. Upon her inspection, Aqua only encountered a squirrel. Her shoulders sagged, and she sighed. She hated to admit it, but she'd been excited about a fight. It made her feel awful that she wanted such a thing; she should be happy.

But she wasn't.

"Geez. Someone would think you were eager to beat me up," came a voice behind her.

Aqua spun around quickly, meeting the blue-green eyes of someone close to her; she huffed and folded her arms.

"You shouldn't be sneaking up on people, Riku," she said. "What are you doing out here?"

Riku ran a hand through his silver hair, shifting his weight to one side as he cocked his hip slightly. "I came to find you, actually. When you weren't out by the bank with the others, I figured you wandered through the forest alone."

Her brows furrowed at his response. She didn't know the others were going to come to the forest as well.

"Picnic," Riku explained as if reading her mind. "Goofy wanted to eat, and Donald wanted to swim. Sora suggested that they could do both together, so here we are." He had opened his arms to gesture towards the forest, but he dropped his arms and frowned as though he realized something. "You _really_ wanted to be alone, didn't you."

It was a statement, not a question, and Aqua rubbed her arm sheepishly. She didn't have to answer him verbally; if anyone could read Aqua it was Riku. Terra and Ven too, but not even as much as Riku could. There was a connection between them that the others couldn't compare to.

There was another connection the two had that not even Aqua could admit to the guy standing in front of her.

Aqua snapped from her thoughts when Riku sighed and stepped closer to her. Instincts told her to step back, but her heart kept her rooted to the spot. He grasped her arms and stared at her intensely.

"You promised when you felt like this again you'd talk to me," he said. His frown was still intact, but it was softer than before.

Aqua bit her lip when she heard the hurt in his tone. She _did _promise that when she first had a moment to think after escaping the darkness, but she couldn't help it. It was a natural way to handle things for her. She'd been alone for a decade.

"I tried, Riku," she croaked finally. "I just...I just feel so...so…"

She was suddenly pulled into his arms, and she felt herself hug him and sob. He was protective of her, supportive of her thoughts. The others gave her pitying glances; they didn't understand at this level. _They didn't know how it felt_.

Riku did. She didn't want him to because that meant someone had similar pain. But he did, so he was there.

And she could blame the flush of her cheeks from the tears.

"I get it, Aqua," Riku whispered, his tone deep. "You're still an important person in everyone's lives, you know."

Before she could retort and argue why she wasn't just as important, he pulled away so he could in her eyes. He brushed her hair from her face with a soft smile. "You're important in my life," he told her. "I don't feel alone when you're around. So I know that means you're not either."

Aqua's lips parted. She didn't know how she wanted to proceed. She could have confessed then and there; something held her back.

"Stop trying to make yourself alone," Riku continued his voice firm. "I know how hard it is wanting to carry that weight on your shoulders by yourself." He held her hand, lacing their fingers together. "But you've got me. You've got all of us. Okay?"

With hopes of not making a fool of herself in front of him, Aqua nodded mutely.

Riku shook his head. "I want to hear you say it."

_No_. Her eyes had widened slightly.

"I…"

Riku squeezed their joined hands. "Come on, Aqua. You're stronger than this."

That did it. "I've got you," she whispered. "I've got you, the king, Ven, Terra...I've got everyone else."

The smile grew slightly on his face; she could see the brightness surrounding him. It could have been the direct sunlight on them, though.

"Good. Now that you've said it, let's head back to those people, and hope that the king keeps Donald from trying to blast Sora and Axel into the water," Riku said with a deep chuckle.

The image was in her head now, and it made her laugh a little. It felt good to laugh. It felt good to be around him. He made her feel good.

With a nod, Riku guided Aqua through the trail in the forest. Their hands were still intertwined as they walked. Aqua kept her mouth shut, but it did nothing to quell the rapid beating of her heart. Surely, he had to know the effect he had on her. It couldn't be one-sided, could it?

She didn't know how long they'd been walking, but they arrived at one of the riverbanks in the forest. She saw King Mickey sitting on a checkered blanket and laughing at the others playing in the water. Donald had his wand waved high, so he must be threatening someone. The food was scattered across the grass and blanket, so the feast had started without them. She didn't expect anything less.

The realization hit her, and it made her laugh. She didn't have to have a purpose; she had their love. She had their friendship.

When the hand squeezed hers a final time, Aqua looked up to see the adoration playing in Riku's eyes as his hair blew back gently with the wind.

She had Riku. She had everything she needed. And that mattered more than any Heartless battle ever would.


End file.
